Lucas Oil Stadium’s retractable roof continues to be the center of much debate. How much use the convertible ceiling at LOS will get remains to be seen. But after a few phone calls this week, I did get a little more information on the cost of the retractable roof.

It’s difficult to say just how much the retractable roof cost, because the steel used in the roof also supports other parts of the building and includes things like stairs and catwalks near the ceiling, said Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority Director John Klipsch.

Klipsch said trying to figure out the exact cost of the roof is like trying to figure out how much of the money you spend on a pair of shoes goes toward supporting the weight of your shoulder. Good one. Point taken. But there are some interesting facts that shed a little light on the cost.

The steel that went into making the roof and supports the structure costs $83.2 million. The parts and labor for the moving components of the roof and retractable window on the stadium’s north end cost $15.6 million. The annual maintenance budget (labor and parts) for the roof is $270,000, with another $30,000 allocated for the window. So routine maintenance for the roof and window for the next decade will be at least $3 million. Minnesota-based Uni-Systems Inc. has the maintenance contract for the retractable roof and window.

By the time the project was put in the hands state officials, the city’s Capital Improvements Board and Indianapolis Colts already determined that a retractable roof for the stadium was a must. “We never did a study on what the costs of a retractable roof would be compared to a standard roof,” Klipsch said. “If that was ever discussed, it was done before we got involved.”

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Managing Editor

Schouten is an Indianapolis native and Indiana University graduate who joined IBJ in 2006 after stints at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Arizona Republic. He covered the real estate beat for most of those years, and launched the Property Lines blog, before taking over as managing editor in March 2013.

Schouten has been honored for investigative and enterprise reporting by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Alliance of Area Business Publications and the Society of Professional Journalists in Indianapolis. During his tenure as moderator of Property Lines, the blog was recognized twice as the best among business journals by the AAPB.

Schouten serves as secretary of the board of governors of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and is set to serve as the organization's president in 2016. He is treasurer of the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation, and a board member of the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation.

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